ANAHEIM >> The island is opening again, the Disneyland Railroad will have a new route, and a revamped “Fantasmic!” show is coming back along with other iconic attractions this summer on the Rivers of America at Disneyland.

After a year-plus hiatus because of the construction of “Star Wars” land, Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyer Island will be the first affected major attraction to re-open, on Friday, June 16, on a newly shaped Rivers of America, according to a Thursday announcement on the official Disney Parks blog.

The “Fantasmic!” water, light and pyrotechnic show — with new sequences, characters, projections, and mist screens over the Rivers of America — will make its return on July 17, Disneyland’s 62nd birthday.

On July 29, visitors will once again be able to paddle on Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes and hop aboard the Mark Twain Riverboat, the Columbia Sailing Ship and the Disneyland Railroad.

All of those attractions had to close temporarily while the park rerouted the Rivers of America to make room for the 14-acre “Star Wars” land that is under construction and scheduled to open in the northern part of the park in 2019.

While some of the attractions remain the same, dramatic changes are in store for “Fantasmic!” and the Disneyland Railroad.

“Fantasmic!,” one of Disneyland’s most popular nightly attractions since its 1992 unveiling, will be spruced up with projection-mapping technology and new water screens and 3D videos.

Aladdin and Jasmine will join the show, floating over a bed of fog on their flying carpet. Captain Jack Sparrow will replace Peter Pan and helm a ghostly pirate ship. Characters from “The Lion King” and “Finding Nemo” will also be newcomers, plus Rapunzel and Flynn Rider from “Tangled” will be added to the Disney couples sequence.

The Disneyland Railroad will chug along a new route on an elevated track over water and near rock landscaping and waterfalls along the north bank, then chug above part of the Big Thunder Trail before making its way to Mickey’s Toontown Station in Fantasyland.

Mark Eades is currently a multi-media reporter for the Orange County Register. He has covered the theme park industry since 2009. He has also covered breaking news and for three years, covered Orange County's canyons and the community of Coto de Caza. Prior to working at the Orange County Register, he worked at the Orange County Newschannel for nearly five years. Prior to that he worked as a writer and producer in the theme park design business. In fact, he was a Disney Imagineer from 1982 to 1993 where he worked on many projects for Disneyland and Walt Disney World.